Peanut butter banana oatmeal breakfast protein cookies

Before I left for my awesome all-inclusive success club trip to Cancun, an amazing opportunity I was lucky enough to earn through my Beachbody coaching, I made these breakfast cookies. You see, before everything else I am, including being a successful health and fitness coach who helps others, I am a wife and mother. One of the things I love to do (and pride myself on) is taking the time to help my family eat better in a way that they never feel deprived or limited. I love to make recipes and meals that will help nourish them, but where they would never feel like they are "stuck" eating "health food."



Call me crazy, but if it doesn't taste good, I don't want to eat it...so why should they? These breakfast protein cookies are great, because they pack some protein and healthy carbs to give you some awesome energy. They are portable and pack easy, and are gluten free, flour free, and eggless. They can even be Vegan. But the best part for me is that they are ready for my husband to grab and go on his way to work this week while he is home alone with the kids, and to hand out in a pinch for an afternoon snack. In any case, I posted the pictures of these yummy breakfast cookies on my personal Facebook page, and a lot of people asked me for the recipe. So, for all of you and anyone else who is interested, here's the recipe.


First, you will need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and gather these ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 2/3 c. natural peanut /almond butter
• 1 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c. Vanilla Shakeology (optional, may substitute any vanilla protein powder or omit completely)
• 1 T. Vanilla extract
• 3. cups gluten free, quick cooking oats (I like Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats)
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1/2 cup Carob chips or natural dark chocolate chips (optional)
• Cinnamon

I placed my peanuts on a cutting board, and grabbed a sheet of waxed paper. Then I grabbed my daughter's favorite kitchen tool, the rolling pin.


One thing I hate about chopping nuts is that when you do it, the nuts have a tendency to shoot out all over the kitchen every which way as you cut. Its frustrating and messy! This is my way of solving this problem. I rolled, and also pressed, the rolling pin on the sheet of waxed paper. Whalah! Chopped peanuts without using a knife! This may already be a "thing," but I felt like a genius.






Next, you are going to gather your ingredients and get to work! The work starts with your 4 ripe bananas. Peel them and place them in a large mixing bowl. Then, mash them up! You will be making your entire recipe in this bowl, so make sure its large enough. This is a step my daughter loves to help with.


Add the peanut butter to the mashed bananas and start mixing it together until thoroughly combined.


Once mixed, add your Shakeology (optional), the vanilla extract, and your applesauce. You now have your wet base (as in most baking recipes, you have wet and dry).


The final step is to add your oats. Combine them together as thoroughly as you can, without over-mixing. You can also add your carob or chocolate chips here if you want some in the batter, as well as a dash of cinnamon. Let the dough rest for a few minutes (5-10) while you line your baking sheet with parchment paper.


Drop the dough onto the cookie sheet in rounded, heaping spoonfuls. To judge the proper amount of batter, flatten the dough/mold it to a circle with your spoon and/or fingers until its the size of cookie you want, and fairly thick (I did about 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick).

I chose to make some plain, and to push some chips into some so we had options. I also sprinkled some cinnamon on top.  That's it! You are ready to bake! These are not made of flour, so they will not spread out past the shape you have created. You will know they are done when they are golden brown.



After a minute, remove them from the pan with a spatula and place them on a cooling rack. This is also the place where you can score the tops of the warm baked cookies to make them look more like traditional peanut butter cookies- use the dull edge of a butter knife or a pizza cutter to do this.


Thats it! You now have a healthy, grab-n-go treat or quick oat-filled fuel for your day, Try them out and let me know what you think! As always, please share this with anyone you think might love them, and comment below how they went for you! Live healthy, live happy! Love, Amanda


Star Diamond Coach Amanda Noddings
Www.facebook.com/TeamDrivenFitness
Www.facebook.com/FitMomAmanda

So I arrived at the gorgeous Moon Palace Resort and Spa for my Success Club Trip today. This is a trip I earned for myself and my family from Beachbody for my success this year in coaching others and helping them achieve their goals. I feel beyond blessed, and I want to share with you the exciting breakdown that was day one in Cancun.



I was greeted by amazing treats at checkin, including these delicious little seed/nut/honey bars that I totally smuggled to my room in my backpack and inhaled within like 30 minutes of arriving (it had been a long day and I was starving)!









Then I was checked into my room, given my keys, and took off walking to find my home for the week. The flowers and stunning vegetation was everywhere.



I agreed to meet the bellman at my room in twenty minutes with my bags, and proceeded to get lost wandering amongst the gorgeous grounds looking for my building.


I ate my nut clusters (knew they would come in handy!) and eventually found my room- which I switched at the last minute to a double when I decided to reward a coach on my team with the trip for free also, for her hard work on my team this year! I'm so happy and blessed to do that!


There was a seating area on the porch with wine set up in case you need to relax a minute right away.



A giant marble shower with a rain-head shower feature promised to wash away all the grime of travel.


The dressing area features a double closet with safe, as well as flat irons and blow dryers form the beauty shop, and a unique angles marvel slanted sink (can you tell I'm married to a plumber? I am fascinated).


I came inside to call my family, and talk to my husband and little ones, whom I miss so much. Then to explore beverage options in the room.


I ordered a club sandwich from the 24 hour room service that is included in my stay, and was immediately glad I also packed ziplock baggies, so I can store half of this for later!


Before I got too far into my meal, I fell asleep after the comfort of voices from home on the phone, with Seth Rogan's Pineapple Express playing in the background (in Spanish) to remind me of my husband. I can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow holds! Thanks for sharing this journey with me- day one in the books! Now, for some rest...

Star Diamond Coach Amanda Noddings
Www.facebook.com/TeamDrivenFitness
Www.facebook.com/FitMomAmanda

Save your health, time, and money: Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches

One of the things my family loves is breakfast sandwiches. My daughter loves them, my husband loves them, and I'll be honest: I love them too! But can you TRULY afford to eat them regularly, both health-wise and financially? Today I'm going to break down for you the TRUE cost of grabbing one of those drive-thru breakfast sandwiches versus making your own at home.


So first let me go over how I make my breakfast sandwiches. I use 12 eggs and about 18 egg whites, scrambled together and seasoned with some cracked pepper and sea salt. For the sausage, I either buy Jimmy Dean's Turnkey sausage patties, or else I buy fresh ground turkey sausage and make my own patties. For this recipe, the nutritional values are based on the Jimmy Dean patties, because I think it makes it super easy for parents out there to throw these together realistically. For the muffin, these are made with Orowheat Multi-grain sandwich thins. I have also used whole grain english muffins-- its really up to you. But substituting these simple small changes makes a big difference in your family's overall nutrition without hearing a bunch of complaining about "healthy" food.

The breakdown of nutrition really speaks for itself. As you can see in the above image, the homemade version by far exceeds the store-bought one, saving you 52 calories per sandwich and giving you 4 more grams of protein. Also its important to point out that you are getting a higher quality of protein, in that it is LEAN instead of fatty. This is evident in the fat difference- the homemade version has less than 1/2 the fat of the original!

The cost per sandwich breakdown is pretty crazy, and I want you to know that I estimated HIGH on the homemade version- and it still comes out to $2.70 less per sandwich! You could save even more by breaking your own egg whites (I bought a carton of liquid egg whites for convenience, which is more expensive than regular eggs). If you purchase your sandwich thins at costco, you save even more, or if you get your eggs on sale. So, estimating high, you save any way you slice it.


Here's what I like to do: make a bunch at once, and wrap them in foil. I write on them a letter (C for cheddar, PJ for Pepperjack, 0 for plain) so I can tell which kind is which. My daughter likes plain ones, my husband likes the extra kick of the pepperjack, and I choose to forgo the cheese and save my healthy fats for somewhere else in my day, like nuts or avocado. Either way, you can store a variety of them in the freezer (I put them in a ziplock to prevent freezer burn), and all they take is a quick minute in the microwave before my husband jets out the door to work. Perfect and portable!

So what's the overall benefit? If you replaced just ONE breakfast sandwich a week-- JUST ONE-- with the homemade version for just ONE PERSON- You would save $140.40 in a year! If you did this once a week for a family of four, you would save $561.60!!! Not to mention 832 grams of fat less consumed by EACH PERSON. This is insane. A total of almost 8,000 calories. Its really a no-brainer. Not to mention, like all my recipes, they are family friendly, in that everyone loves to eat them and everyone helps make them. Olivia (4) and I put them together TOGETHER. Its fun for her to help, easy to assemble them with me after I have made up the plate of eggs, and she's eggcited (yes, I said that!) to eat one of her creations. I hope this is helpful for you- if you know someone who could benefit from reading this blog or would find it interesting, please share! 
As always, live healthy, live happy. Love, Amanda
Star Diamond Coach Amanda Noddings
Www.facebook.com/TeamDrivenFitness
Www.facebook.com/FitMomAmanda

Hard Boiled Eggs: Tips and Tricks

So many people boiling eggs this weekend-- and as they are a regular part of my food prep, I have become sort of a pseudo-expert on them.

Eggs are not only a great source of protein, but also full of healthy Omega-3 Fatty Acids, which are vital for your body. I use them as a snack, in chef salads, for my husband's work lunch-- a dozen ways, really!



Place your eggs in a large pot of water, filling it an inch above the eggs. Place on your burner and set to high, waiting for what we call a rapid, "rolling boil." Once that is achieved, immediately turn off the burner, pull the pot OFF the heat, and cover it with a tight lid. You want to set a timer for exactly 12:00 minutes.



As soon as the timer goes off, you are going to put your eggs in an ice bath, so while try are sitting with the lid on OFF the heat, fill a bowl with an ice water bath. When the 12 minutes are up- place them in and let them sit. This stops the cooking process- as long as those eggs are warm, they are still cooking in that neat little she'll- and this is how you will end up with overdone eggs and yolks.


That's all it takes! After they've sat in the ice bath about 15 minutes, they are probably sufficiently cooled, and ready to be dried off and put in the fridge to use for the upcoming week, dyed for Easter, made into deviled eggs, or however you choose!


I hope this helped you with your egg-boiling mission! What are your go-to tricks and tips? Share them below- I love to hear from you! As always, thank you, and have a fabulous day!

Star Diamond Coach Amanda Noddings
Www.facebook.com/TeamDrivenFitness
Www.facebook.com/FitMomAmanda

6 Tips for Ditching Bad Habits!

6 tips on how to ditch your bad habits, and implement some good ones!

1. For BIG results, think SMALL.
Whatever it is that you want to change about yourself is completely achievable, but first you’ve got to break down your goals into manageable chunks. For example, if you’re a poor eater, instead of going cold turkey and changing your entire diet in one big swoop, swap out one bad food/drink item at a time for a healthier choice.And if you make one of the swaps for a Shakeology®, not only will you be replacing something bad with something good, Shakeology will do wonders for your body.

2. Envision the positive outcome.
If you focus on one big benefit that comes with changing your bad habit, then you’ll have the motivation you need to be disciplined. Sure, cookies are delicious and give you instant gratification, but instead of thinking about the way they taste, think about how great you’re going to feel when you lose weight and can finally fit back into those jeans that mysteriously seemed to have shrunk in the dryer.

3. Create “If–Then” statements.
Instead of making a bold declaration that’s generic (example: “This year I won’t eat junk when I get hungry!”), rather create an “IF–THEN” statement that goes something like: “IF I get hungry in between meals, THEN I will eat almonds as my snack.”That way you have already prepped your brain for the action you want it to take. Plus, it puts a plan in place so you can stock up on healthy snacks ahead of time. The reality is, you eat what you buy.

4. Repeat your behavior.
The best way to establish new (and good) habits is to do it over and over and over again. And eventually you won’t even think about what you’re doing, and instead, it’ll become…A HABIT! For example, once you get in the habit of waking up 30 minutes earlier in the mornings and going for a walk (or do a quick Beachbody® workout), pretty soon it’ll just become what you do every day, and not doing it will seem weird.

5. Don’t completely restrict your cravings.
Sometimes, when people try and suppress negative thoughts, they actually come back with a vengeance. So if you’re craving chocolate, go ahead and treat yourself to a small portion. Just don’t eat the whole box of chocolates. Or, just have a Chocolate Shakeology.

6. Set small goals, then reward yourself when you achieve them.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, human beings make decisions based on incentives. It’s just the way we’re wired. So to help you achieve your goals, make a deal with yourself that when you reach a particular milestone, you’ll treat yourself to a new ______________. Just make sure that the reward is something healthy. For example: “When I lose 5 pounds, I’ll buy myself a new pair of running shoes.”
The results are worth it.

And there you have it, 6 easy ways to break up with bad habits while implementing some healthy ones into your life. Sure, change isn’t easy. But it is doable. You’ve just got to get over the hump and dump your bad habits once and for all. AND That is why I run successful online challenge groups!! You are ready for a change! Let’s do this!